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Today I have for you my second MB Gladiator. Originally this was supposed to feature aftermarket decals from Microscale, but all 3 options on the sheet shattered, so I had to revert to the supplied Swedish Air Force decals. One change that will be made regards the prop, as many of the Swedish Aircraft featured 3 bladed props. I found a picture of aircraft 8 * 5 with one, and assumed that 8 * 4 would have the same. Like most MB kits, it built quickly but lacked interior detail. With that in mind, I used some Evergreen .020 strip to fabricate some interior framing along the lines of my previous Gladiator build and added lap belts from Tamiya tape. All that remains to be done is a little bit of detail painting on the engine, guns, and canopy, and the installation of the prop and wheels, which should take place in the morning. Both Gladiator should be in RFI by Friday, and their space on the bench will be replaced by a FROG Magister and DH.60G that I intend to (semi) convert to a military M model by modifying the landing gear, adding fuselage stringer detail, and possibly adding an exhaust pipe. Thanks for checking in, Stay safe everyone, Tweener

Here now my Models of the old Matchbox/Rebox Revell. I purposely didn't improve anything, just experimented with painting and other techniques. I hope you like them 😊 The first model was a T-34

In the mail today came the first of two 1/72 Gladiators by Matchbox, and on the way is a Microscale sheet that covers Gladiators and Furies. While paint dried on the top of the Walrus, I got to work. From the spares bin came a CMK resin seat for a P-40 and a control stick from a Hasegawa Ki-46, and these were promptly added alongside some inaccurate-but-better-than-nothing sidewall framing. An equally inaccurately shaped instrument panel as added to the back side of the parts that form the top of the nose. In the coming days the proper interior paints will arrive and work will continue. For now, it looks like this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/112759894@N05/50793640181/in/dateposted-public/ I likely won't spend any more time detailing the cockpit / adding the radio rack behind the pilots seat as I doubt what little I have done will be seen anyways. This first Gladiator will be finished in the kit provided scheme of an aircraft from No.73 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Station Digby in 1938. The second will use an option from the Microscale sheet. That's all the progress so far. Thanks all, Tweener

Greetings all, The first build of the new year is the Revell (Matchbox) Supermarine Walrus, which will likely be finished in post-war French Navy colors, as provided. Construction progresses fairly quickly, as there are only 3 seats in terms of interior detail. The interior was spray painted flat back and one of the hatches closed to hide the emptiness. The tailplanes fit so well that they actually clicked together without glue, but were glued anyways. The tail struts were all the correct length and fit into their holes well. In about 3 hours times, the Walrus looked like this: After this had been left to set for a while, construction continued this morning, and now she looks like this, ready for paint: The first layer of silver will be sprayed sometime tonight, and hopefully she will be all painted by the middle of next week. That's all the progress so far, Thanks all, Tweener

Right! So it's time for my first ever blitz build! @JeroenS introduced me into this and I thought I'd give it a go. I had bit lost my mojo over the Phantom - mainly just due to not having time to work on it and the inevitable missing of the deadline - so this could be the perfect pick-me-up and good foundation for the upcoming year! So I chose a kit that I thought I'd had no trouble finishing over a weekend. Low parts count, not much in the way of small and fiddly bits (the real time sinks!) and hopefully a simple construction with little problems. We will see about that. Started 11:14 this morning, yes, I slept bit late...

Hello all, Today I have a finished Matchbox Hawker Fury - a lovely kit really, and one I look forward to building again. Markings represent an aircraft from the RAFs 43 Squadron "Fighting Cocks" in the mid 1930s, but the red on the vertical tail is incorrect - I've learned not to always trust the instructions as a result. Otherwise I'm happy. The photo isn't great but in the absence of any real sunlight lately, it'll have to do. Happy holidays all, Stay safe, Tweener

Hello all, Today I have the Matchbox 1/72 Hawker Fury in progress. Like most MB kits, the build process is quick, and I had this much done after a few hours of on / off modeling last weekend - In the days that followed, paint was quick and easy thanks to Testors enamel spraypaints and MM Insignia Red, and decals went down over the course of yesterday and today. At first I had lost one of the upper roundels, but it was found this evening and applied. The red on the tail is not accurate, as K 1933 should have it and not 1938, but I trusted the instructions before I found the photo showing otherwise, and my hands are not careful enough to correct it without painting over the rudder stripes as well. All that remains now is the prop, and eventually, attaching the windscreen. Hopefully more British Bipes are to follow throughout the early new year - I have a MB Gladiator on the way, and soon I plan to have another Fury or two as well. Perhaps another Hart / Demon will follow as well if I can get my hands on some ModelDecal sheets. Thanks all, Happy Holidays, Tweener

As I have little in the stash what to build will depend on a visit to my LMS,I might go for a figure,tank or aircraft something simple but I always love these Blitzbuilds so no way am I missing one.

At last, here is my Matchbox 1/72 A.W. Siskin IIIA. Decals courtesy of @72modeler Wheels were sourced from an SH A17 Nomad as I would never be able to paint the kit wheels and felt these looked far better either way. Now to sort the wheels on an Airfix Demon... That's all for now, Thanks all, Tweener

Hey all, I've made good progress on the Matchbox 1/72 Siskin IIIA. Thanks to Mike ( @72modeler) new decals are on the way. Other than forgetting to attach the gunsight in time, I'd say it's a very pleasant build, and I am thankful that the top wing went on well. That's all for now, Stay healthy, Tweener

RAE Wessex built from the old Matchbox Wessex and finished with Airdecal markings. I cut out the nose intake and replaced it with mesh but it doesn't show very well, apart from that it's pretty much straight from the box. I shortened the main gear legs as the sit is wrong otherwise. Steve

My recently completed Hunter T7, made from the old Matchbox kit and some codged together decals to represent XL613 of 237OCU in 1988

I will be building the 1/76 Revell Jagdpanther. It is a re-box of the old Matchbox kit. It will be build straight from the box and I think that I will be hand painting it. The pictures will follow later. Cheers,

This has been ticking along in the background for a little while and is now done. Here is my spin on the Churchill IV(?) A.V.R.E tank in 1/76 using the venerable Matchbox kit and built OOB with some little enhancements. With kit of this vintage, their was always going to be some issues of fit and detail which were soon overcome. The only enhancement I done was to replace the handles on the rear deck but I'm sure their can be other refinements like towing cables, tools that can be done...on the next one maybe. Painted with AK Interactive paint. Kit decals held out well. Very lightly weathered with an oil wash. I wanted to depict the Churchill in its first roll using the SBG (small box girder) assault bridge. The assault bridge was designed to overcome the coastal sea walls (up to 12' high) and once that job was done, the bridge operating gear was ditched and it went into a support role. Thanks for stopping by. Stuart

I have always preferred old kits from the Sixties and Seventies to the modern toolings (not that there is anything wrong with them) and following on from my recent old-tool Airfix Phantom I decided to finish one old kit, started another to keep it company and they were joined by an ATF Battle of Britain GB kit. All three were supposed to have been completely OOB with no aftermarket stuff and brush-painted throughout. As it turned out, the first of the three (Hawk) was completed as intended. The Harrier was half and half and the Hurricane was airbrushed. Matchbox 1/72 HS.1182 Hawk (PK-27) This was an original 1975 release. It was a straight-forward OOB build with brush-painting throughout. Unfortunately, the canopy cracked (see 2nd picture) during a construction period of more than three years where it kept being shoved in a cupboard! I like to think that perseverance paid off in the end. Airfix 1/72 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 (266) This is a red-stripe boxing from 1969. Built OOB except for kit decals that weren't useable. I used Xtradecal roundels and fin flash whilst other decals came from the old Airfix GR.3 kit which to be honest were shocking. Airfix 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk I (A04102) A 2005 re-boxing of a 1980 kit, this was built OOB but with added rhinestone lights and ejector slots drawn on wings. Not sure what my next "therapy" build will be but I have a feeling it might be an ancient Airfix floaty thing. Dave

Following the sad demise of my B-57 due to an over excited Labrador (I wonder if I should put a B-57 silhouette on her collar as a kill marking?) I had to have a look for something to take it's place as I can't really co-host and not have something in the gallery can I. Rummaging through the (ever expanding) stash I actually struggled to find much that fits the criteria and then I came across a box with those well known red, orange and yellow stripes on the black background and my decision was made. I have very fond memories of this kit as it was the first biplane that I was able to finish successfully, there had been earlier attempts of course but they always ended in a gluey mess, but not my Helldiver. I was extremely proud of my Helldiver and it can't have been too bad as it was allowed to be displayed in our front room for couple of weeks. So without further ado here are the obligatory box and contents shots. Pretty good box art as far as I'm concerned. The rear of the box is slightly damaged, but you can still see the options available. Mine will be US Navy, just as it was when I was a kid. And the multi-coloured plastic so beloved of Matchbox, at least the top of the wing is in the right colour! And the decals. They don;t look too bad and I do have some more as I have another of these in the stash, and a Heller one but that is for another day. As for the build itself I intend to build it pretty much as I did when I first built it all those years ago, not much if anything added to the interior but I will probably use a rattle can for the painted aluminium finish. So lets see if we can have more successful and relatively Labrador free build and actually get one in the gallery! I hope to make a start tomorrow. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.

I said I might build this, and I am. Here are my scan of the original Matchbox cover. I think I built this Christmas 1981: This is the Revell boxing that I'm building: I imagine the build phase might get done rather quickly once I start it, which should be today or tomorrow.

Hi all, Presenting a Revell re-pop of Matchbox's "Monty's Caravan" and Daimler Dingo armoured car in 1/76th scale. Gluing has taken place.... Really enjoy these old 1/76th kits. IanJ

As well as the NF11 I also made one of the Matchbox Meteors as an NF14, this one with the colourful markings of 152 squadron while based at Wattisham in the mid 1950s, before the unit moved to Stradishall. The grey is dark sea grey on the NF14s, instead of the mid sea grey usually applied to NF11s. Undersides are mid sea grey, with standard RAF dark green camo. Decals from Modeldecal.

After a short 'break', I'm back with a bang! A Meteor night fighter, with huge thanks to @Wez for dispensing with some of his Meteors at good value. And thank you to @LostCosmonauts for the letter D decals! Kit is the Matchbox night fighter, with Modeldecal squadron markings.

Matchbox' NF11/12/14 Meteor is just one of those kits you gotta love for offering so much in such a small package. No less than three marks in one cheap box! Lots of spare parts, especially if you decide to use Aeroclub's conversion set. This kit has quite a bit of history behind it. I first started building kits when I was 7 or 8 or so and it was of course my dad who brought me into the hobby. We set out together to build all aircraft types ever flown with Dutch military or civil registrations, as well as all Dutch-designed types. The Meteor was of course on that list and my dad bought it as it looked like the two-seater T.7. We found out it didn't have the right parts for that however. The kit never reached the top of the build queue and languished in the stash. Fast forward thirty years or so. My dad passed away two years back and I ran across the kit when tidying up the house, many kits had gone into storage. By then I'd also picked up a set of Dutch Decal's Facts & Fiction sheet, which had a very attractive scheme for an NF.14 which the Dutch Air Force was about to buy before the Americans stepped in to supply the F-86K. However, when I opened the kit there was a surprise: It included the Aeroclub conversion to build it as a T.7, fully marked up by my dad to show which parts where applicable. So that clinched it, build it as a T.7 as originally intended! This is one of those Matchbox kits with very fine raised detail. Unfortunately it is also one of those Matchbox kits with slightly worse than average fit; particularly the exhausts and intakes and the upper fuselage insert require a lot of filling and sanding so much of that detail was lost. I decided to use the kit as a bit of an exercise in rescribing, which made the build twice as long. I'm happy with the result though; I used some tape of unknown provenance I had in my stash which was quite thin and flexible but also had some 'height' to it which was perfect for fitting around curves and guiding the scribing tool. Painting was easy and quick, for the 'high speed silver' I used Humbrol Polished Aluminium from a rattle can. Goes on quickly and results in a nice finish I think. Decals were a combination of a very old Dutch Decal sheet which I had stuck behind a window for a few weeks to get rid of the yellowing and the Matchbox decals for the walkways. They both performed very well for their age. An Albion Alloys pitot completed the job. I'm quite pleased with the result. This kit and conversion combo has of course been superseded by the much better Special Hobby tooling but if you have these kits around, they deserve the effort and will reward you for it.

Evening folk's an out of blue entry from me,I was perusing e-bay and saw an original Matchbox Sea Harrier up for a fiver with a nice set of decal's so took a punt and got it just now,I did one for the matchbox GB a few years ago but made a pigs ear of it in the all gray Falklands scheme,this one will be in the high viz EDSG over White scheme,pictures to follow.

Dassault Mystère IVA 2 Escadre de Chase "Patrouille de France" 1957-61 Old Matchbox kit discovered as part of a lost box of kits when clearing the garage Last couple of pics include my first garage find kit; a Heller Ouragan also in Patrouille de France colours Just for Perdu (Bill) - the pilot figure has been ordered I've also drawn up a plan for a ladder - hopefully it wiil be done before we return to Longbridge 🤪 WIP topic is here

I first built this kit waaaaaay back in 1980. That was the year I started secondary school. So did I build it in my last few months of primary school, the summer holidays, or my first few months of secondary school? I can't be sure (it was 40 years ago!), but I think I built it no later than the summer. These things matter to me! One thing is for sure, I didn't build it at Christmas. I have the Revell "classic" re-box in the stash. But that's not what I'm building here. I managed to pick up the original Matchbox kit for free, as it had already been started by the previous owner. Also, one of the pilot figures was missing, the barrel of the Lewis rear machine gun was broken off, and its base was missing. I had also decided I would complete it in Irish Air Corps (No. 1 Fighter Squadron) markings, using spare decals from an Airfix Hurricane Mk. I: The missing pilot is no big deal, as I never really liked the old Matchbox crew figures anyway. While I could have used some spare Airfix figures, I decided to keep these for future use. I completely repainted the cockpit, shaping a piece from the spare box as a new rear MG base. Representing the ammo drums on this ... tricky, very tricky. Too tricky. I also added a rudimentary instrument panel, not shown here. The canopy framing is best painted before assembly, as otherwise the wings will be an obstruction. So far, I've done the first pass at the undercoat (Hu 78 interior green, same as the cockpit). That is obviously going to take a while, especially as it's best done in good natural light, of which there is very little at the moment. The enclosed fuselage halves. In reality, the cockpit interior was way more complex, so no point in trying to go to town on this.

The story starts at the Peterborough model show with this one. Ah, what memories, those were the days when we had real model shows to visit! I'm sure those times will return! I was rummaging through a box of old Matchbox kits & was spotted by a venerable member of the Mirage SIG handling the Mirage IIIB. The decision was made there & then, especially when the Mirage SIG leader is there next to me! So a random peice of artwork was chosen from his French Air Force bible full of profiles, "i'll build that one!" This is a Matchbox kit in 1/72. Rescibed a few but not all panel lines, some existing panel lines were OK. No cockpit present, so boxed up something with side consoles. The underside rear fairing was non existent so I used one of the kit options from the Heller kit & added an arrestor hook. The Heller kit thankfully has plenty of options which allowed me to build both this & the 5BA. Also thanks to Special Hobby for providing multiple options in their F1 kit. For the instrument displays employed artistic licence & scavenged some consoles from Special Hobby Mirage F1 kits along with the Mk.IV ejection seats. The tanks were from the Heller kit I used for the Belgian black anniversary 5BA kit. I think they're strengthening rods that appear under the cockpit, I added them with brass tube. As a couple of pitot tubes extend from the both of them I flattened the tubing & added wire to them to represent the pitot's. Also added blade aerials from plastic sheet & some old left over PE aerials from old kits. I added some extra scrap plastic to the undercarriage legs to represent a bit more detail & some extra details to the undercarriage bay doors. Paints; Ammo Mig - upper colours & Vallejo Metal Colour Aluminium undersides. All the decals were taken from the Model Art sheet 72-067 & used some color reference photos from the Osprey Aerospace book "Mirage! Dassault's Mach 2 Warriors". Squadron marking references I worked from, were EC 1/13 at Colmar under the assumption that the roundels & upper wing markings would be similar, & the decal sheet had everything I needed. Looking at the photos in the book, the paint on the fuel tanks had peeled off great deal & there was a fair bit of weathering. Really look forward to a new tool 1/72 Mirage IIIB which I believe is on the way, so I can use the rest of the decals from the sheet. Markings are for Dassault Mirage IIIB No.217 2-FT EC 02/02 at Côte-d'Or Dijon-Longvic Air Force Base 1983 So some of the older Matchbox kits are worth a go, especially if they are the only option. In hindsight I could have found a correct length & shaped nose cone from somewhere as the kit profile does look a little too short. A note of warning to anyone planning to build this kit, the jet intakes are way too thick & don't taper in at the front, so they had to be sanded & shaped so that the intake lips are nice & thin. Thanks for looking & have fun with the older kits! Martin